Brain Dissection

Questions

1. 

                                      

My personal drawing and picture of our brain, showing the cerebrum, cerebellum, and the brainstem. 

2. Cerebrum: Responsible for sensory and neural functions, also the initiation and coordination of voluntary actions

Cerebellum: Functions to coordinate and regulate the activity of the muscles

Brainstem: Consists of the medulla oblongata, pons, and midbrain. It continues downwards to form the spinal cord

3. The function of the myelin in a neuron is to act as a fatty covering on the dendrites of the neuron in order to speed up processing of the information. It occurs in places such as the eyes, where information needs to be processed quickly.

4. 

                                                 

A drawing of the cross-section and a photo. The pins in the brain represent the thalamus, optic nerve, medulla oblongata, pons, midbrain, corpus callosum, and hypothalamus. 

5. Thalamus (yellow pin): relays sensory info and acts as "center" for pain perception

Optic nerve (white pin): transmits impulse from the retina to the brain

Medulla oblongata (red pin): the lowest part of the brainstem, it contains the control center for the heart and lungs

Pons (blue pin): the area of the brainstem that connects the medulla oblongata and the thalamus

Midbrain (black pin): a part of the central nervous system that is associated with vision, hearing, and motor control

Corpus callosum (green): allows for communication between the two hemispheres of the brain

Hypothalamus (white pin): regulates the nervous system and connects it to the endocrine system via the pituitary gland

6.

                                       

A sketch and a photo to show the difference between white and gray matter. 

Relate and Review 

We started this lab my examining the outside of the brain. We located the meninges, the shiny covering on the outside of the brain. Next, we identified the cerebrum, cerebellum, and brainstem (as seen in pictures above). Then, we cut the brain in half longitudinally. From there we were able to locate the thalamus, optic nerve, medulla oblongata, pons, midbrain, corpus callosum, and the hypothalamus. Lastly, we made a cross sectional cut of the cerebrum and identified the gray matter and white matter. This related to what we have done so far as it helped to give us an actual visual of the parts of the brain we are learning about. It also helped us to see how all of the parts of the brain are connected and reinforced our understanding about each of the part's functions.